“The Lost Boys: Hard-To-Find ’80s Albums” gives you exactly what the title implies: a rare or out-of-print album from the ’80s in its entirety. Some will be from CD, but most will have been lovingly transferred from pristine vinyl culled directly from the Analog Kid’s vast collection. Whatever album I choose, it will be one that you can’t easily find a physical copy for sale on Amazon or in your local record store (if you even have one anymore). Death…by stereo!

1982’s Spring Session M is one of the finest records of the early ’80s. The first full-length album from Missing Persons spawned four top 100 singles, and its videos received massive amounts of airplay on MTV. Unfortunately, the only things that anyone really seems to remember about the band are singer Dale Bozzio’s crazy hair and clothing choices:

Dale’s platinum-pink hair and cone top may have received most of the attention, but she had an absolutely amazing band behind her. Dale met her husband Terry while he was playing drums for Frank Zappa, and Dale eventually joined Zappa’s band as well. Patrick O’Hearn was playing bass for Frank at the time, and guitarist Warren Cuccurullo would soon join as well (but not until after Terry and Patrick’s departure in 1978).

In early 1980, the four Zappa exes teamed up with keyboardist Chuck Wild to form Missing Persons. The band’s first EP was recorded in Zappa’s stuido, and the song “Mental Hopscotch” became a big hit in Los Angeles thanks to KROQ. Missing Persons signed with Capitol Records shortly thereafter, and released Spring Session M (an anagram of the band’s name) in October of 1982. The album didn’t have any huge hits on the charts, but four of its songs received major airplay on MTV and alternative radio: “Words,” “Destination Unknown” (my personal favorite!), “Windows,” and “Walking In L.A.”

Missing Persons recorded two more great albums for Capitol before the band (and the Bozzio’s marriage) splintered, and all three records are currently out of print. Dale continues to tour (with a new band) under the Missing Persons name, although her outfits aren’t quite as wild as they were during the band’s MTV heyday. Warren Cuccurullo went on to join Duran Duran after Andy Taylor’s departure from the group, and he was the primary composer of their comeback smash “Ordinary World.” Patrick Hearn has released 13 solo albums over the years, and Terry Bozzio is still widely hailed as one of the best drummers on the face of the planet. After all, Frank Zappa only worked with the best– one listen to Spring Session M proves that.

Mental Hopscotch is a song that I probably haven’t heard in over 30 years, but it brings back a number of memories. Shades of Blondie, No Doubt and a local band from New Orleans called “The Cold.” Perhaps living in Dallas, you might have heard of them. They almost broke out into national attention, but never quite made it. The lead guitarist was Vance DeGeneres, brother of Ellen and lead singer, Barbara Menendez…was a ball of energy in short skirts. Mesmerized and Three Chord City were a couple of their biggest hits. I’d love to see a post on them if you have any of their stuff.